December 20: "Global Weirding"

Until recently, scientists and meteorologists have been hesitant to make a direct connection between climate change and rapidly changing weather patterns.

Coined "global weirding," distinct trends and records for nearly every type of extreme weather are occurring: high temperatures get higher, rainfalls set new records, droughts get deeper, wildfires burn more acres. But with the increasing frequency of these events, and particularly with the devastation brought to the East Coast by Hurricane Sandy, climate change is becoming far less taboo in discussions about the causes of these mega storms.

"Global weirding" by the numbers ...

Sea levels are expected to rise by as much as 3 feet by the year 2100.

The global population is expected to grow from 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion people between now and 2050, demand for renewable energy and clean water will continue to soar.